10-06-2012, 09:33 PM | #16 | |
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10-06-2012, 09:38 PM | #17 |
You kids get off my lawn!
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In general, I'd say no. I can think of times that wouldn't be true - a book old enough to be remaindered for a low price, but still selling at the MMPB price in digital might be one of those times.
To some degree, it depends on the potential for pricing as much as the price. Back when there was only paper, I could go to B&N and pay cover price (usually - they rarely put MMPB on sale) or I could chance that the book was included in the more limited selection at a discount store. So I might have chosen to pay more at B&N to have the book in my hands, rather than have to run around trying to find it at a discount somewhere else. But nowadays overall, if the price is higher for digital than print, I put it on a wait list or look for it at the library. |
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10-06-2012, 09:50 PM | #18 |
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ABSOLUTELY NOT!
I DO take into account the revenues already generated by the hardcover AND paperback versions, the minimal incremental cost of producing the e-book, the lack of shipping and return costs, and the tendency of publishers, with the authors' connivance, to attempt to prevent e-books from wide availability in libraries, AND the fact that it can't be given to other readers OR provide a reduced cost to me by selling it to Half Price Books or other buyer... So, in reality, my price point is at best, about HALF what a paperback would cost... In general, if it's more than $3.00, I wait, get it at the library, or read it on paper from the library. |
10-06-2012, 11:14 PM | #19 | |
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I don't shop around between e-book stores, either, I'll just pay whatever price Kobo is asking if they have it in their catalogue (and I want to purchase it, of course). I like the convenience of them all being in the same place, and Kobo providing cloud storage for me. If my device is lost, stolen, or I upgrade to a new one, that all I have do is plug in my email and password and they all download again. Saving a few dollars here or there isn't worth DRM stripping, format conversions, managing my own cloud storage, etc., to me. More power to those who do it, but my time is worth more to me than that. (It's amazing how as a kid my money was worth far more to me than my time, but now that I'm an employer my time is worth more to me than my money; any time I spend on anything costs me money, as I could have relieved an employee with that time and saved wages. ) |
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10-07-2012, 12:24 AM | #20 |
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If the cost of the e-book is more than the cost of the paperback, I probably would not buy it. It's a matter of principle, there are less costs with the e-book than with the paper book, so I expect it to cost less. I don't expect it to cost a LOT less, I recognize that there are still costs involved. There are just so many other books out there that I can read, if the e-book costs more than the paper book, I can always find something else to read.
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10-07-2012, 01:15 AM | #21 |
Surfin the alpha waves ~~
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Nope.
If the ebook is more expensive and it's available in "hardcopy" ... that means I should be able to borrow it from the library. I haven't forgotten how to read old-fashioned books. |
10-07-2012, 01:18 AM | #22 |
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The programming required to produce an ebook file is the same as the programming required to set up a book for printing (either on an offset or on a digital printing line). And this work has not to be done twice (for printing and ebook processing): for anything that is available in a standard electronic format, converting into an ebook file does not require much of a programming effort.
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10-07-2012, 01:35 AM | #23 | |
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From the perspective of 'ownership' a purchased ebook is thus more or less equivalent to a physical book loaned from a library. I assume few people would pay more than the purchase price to loan a physical book. I also don't buy the argument that distribution and production costs for ebooks are not significantly cheaper that for physical books. |
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10-07-2012, 05:15 AM | #24 |
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If I think the ebook is good value, then I'll buy it. If not, I might look for a paper version.
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10-07-2012, 05:32 PM | #25 |
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Seems to me there are costs associated with looking for a cheaper paper version (transportation expenses, the opportunity cost of what you could have done with that time, etc.). Doesn't interest me, especially.
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10-07-2012, 05:35 PM | #26 |
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I'll only pay higher than paperback pricing if the ebook is released ahead of *any* print edition. And then it had better be a more or less known quantity: Select eARCs, I'll pay up to US$15 with the understanding I'm paying extra for the early access (say 5-6 months' worth).
Last edited by fjtorres; 10-07-2012 at 05:37 PM. |
10-07-2012, 05:37 PM | #27 |
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Most of the time what I do while waiting for a cheaper version is simply read one or more of the myriad of free books that were written by quality authors over a hundred years ago.
I'm a hopeless re-reader, books can't be "favorites" of mine until they are comfort food for the soul. For me, as I was growing up, I was not accustomed to book costs being so high - they were something I picked up at yard sales, second hand shops and libraries - over 40 years of default simply doesn't change because it's an "ebook". I paid the premium for the gizmo, so I balance it out by filling it with zero calorie reads. |
10-07-2012, 08:54 PM | #28 | |
You kids get off my lawn!
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This does NOT mean that I think all eBooks should be priced at 0.99 or less - I understand that authors and publishers need to make money, or they'll stop creating the books I want to read. But, just like when I only bought print books, what I "normally" paid for most of the books I already own does influence what I'm willing to pay now. Like you, I have many favorites (or even just "liked-a-lot's") that I can re-read. I'm just not willing, for most books of any "binding", to pay more than about 5-6 dollars for a fiction book. And if I can get what I want for less than that, then yahoo!, I got it on sale! |
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10-08-2012, 12:25 AM | #29 | |
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10-08-2012, 12:29 AM | #30 |
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You know, it's really no different than between hardback and paperback. Are you willing to wait for the price to come down? If so, it's not an issue. The price will eventually drop to paperback or less. It may go on sale. In fact, I benefited by being slow for the last Dresden audiobook. Instead of $14.95 for the audiobook (through my audible account), I ended up getting it for $8.95 on a special weekend deal several months after it was issued. The following weekend, Amazon offered the ebook for $6 (sale lasted about 1/2 day). It's not like I don't have a lot of To-be-read. I've learned to wait a bit longer and get it cheaper.
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